Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/840286
July 2017 WINES&VINES 59 WINE EAST WINE INDUSTRY NEWS D enver, Colo.—Agriculture officials in Colorado are inviting growers to complete a voluntary and free sur- vey so they can get a better handle on the presence and spread of the insect phylloxera in the state's vineyards. The survey is in response to members of the Colorado industry voting during the annual VinCO meeting in January to request the Colo- rado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and Cooperative Ag Pest Survey make the vineyard louse its priority this season. State officials require a vineyard manager be present while a sample is collected, and growers should con- tact Jeanne Ring with the CDA at jeanne.ring@ state.co.us to set up a survey. The Colorado Wine Industry Development Board (CWIDB) is providing information about how to prevent the spread of the pest in the state and also asking its members to participate in the survey. The group also has posted more information about the insect to its website, coloradowine.com. In April, Colorado State University and the CDA announced scientists have "identified about eight isolated vineyard locations infested with grape phylloxera." The owners of those vineyards are taking steps to stop the spread of the pest and eradicate the affected vines. Doug Caskey, executive director of CWIDB in Broomfield, Colo., told Wines & Vines in an email when phylloxera was detected in a hy- brid vineyard in 2015 that it was not a cause for alarm because the threat was considered minimal. "In Mesa and Delta counties, homes to the Grand Valley and West Elks AVAs respectively, the discovery of phylloxera is more concerning because 95% of our vines are located in those two counties," he said. "Virtually all of the vinifera vines on the Western Slope are self- rooted, and consequently very susceptible to phylloxera. The graft union of a vine is terribly cold-sensitive, so we avoided grafting until it has now become necessary." Colorado's cold winters are partly why the state's vinifera vineyards are more at risk to phylloxera but also should help limit the pest's impact. Several experts such as Dr. Mark Chien with the Oregon State Wine Research Institute predict Colorado's cold winters will slow the spread of the louse and give growers a chance to make the nec- essary changes. Caskey said Dr. Horst Caspari at Colorado State University is starting research to exam- ine how vulnerable graft unions are in the Colorado climate and if vines could be planted with the unions below the soil level. Caspari advocates for planting new, grafted vines be- tween the already infested vines to lessen the loss of cash flow when replanting. —Andrew Adams Colorado to Survey Phylloxera Risk to Vineyards After Pest Found What sets us apart? The Waterloo Container Team EXPERIENCE • Family Owned and Operated since 1980 • Extensive Expertise in the Wine Packaging Industry • Total Package Provider • Commitment to Customer Service • Customized printing, sleeving and packaging 888-539-3922 • waterloocontainer.com Vine graft unions are cold sensitive and have been avoided in Colorado until recently.